OJSC Transaero Airlines (Russian: ОАО «АК «ТРАНСАЭРО», Открытое акционерное общество "Авиационная компания "ТРАНСАЭРО") or simply Transaero (Russian: Трансаэро) is a Russianairline with its head office in Saint Petersburg.[2] It operates scheduled and charter flights to 103 domestic and international destinations. Its main hubs are Moscow-Domodedovo and Saint Petersburg with further bases throughout Russia.

Transaero began as a charter airline with aircraft leased from Aeroflot. It was incorporated as a joint stock company on 28 December 1990 and was the first private company approved for scheduled passenger services in the Soviet Union. Its first charter service was Moscow to Tel Aviv on 5 November 1991. In July 1992, Transaero received its own Ilyushin Il-86. It became the first privately owned airline to operate scheduled flights in Russia when it launched its Moscow–Norilsk flight in January 1993 followed by Kiev, Sochi and Almaty later the same year. Its first international scheduled route outside the former Soviet Union from Moscow to Tel Aviv was inaugurated in November 1993.

In April 1993, Transaero started operating western-made aircraft when it received its first Boeing 737-200, followed by its first Boeing 757-200 in April 1994.

Transaero was also the first Russian airline with a frequent flyer program, which established in 1995. It was also the first Russian airline with an FAA aircraft maintenance certificate, which it obtained in 1997. In December 1998 a weekly service between Moscow and Gatwick Airport in London was started. Transaero operated its first Boeing 737-700 in 1998, followed by Boeing 767-200 and Boeing 737-300 in 2002 and Boeing 767-300 and Boeing 737-400 in 2003. An agreement was signed to purchase 10 Tupolev Tu-214-300 in the same year.[4] In 2005, Transaero became the first Russian passenger airline to operate the Boeing 747 when it started services on 11 July 2005 with a leased, ex-Virgin Atlantic Airways Boeing 747-200 on scheduled services from Moscow to Tel Aviv. The aircraft would also operate summer charter flights to holiday destinations.

In May 2005, Transaero added a flight between Moscow and Montreal, marking the first time the airline flew to Canada. On 21 June 2006, Transaero also began operating nonstop flights between Moscow and Toronto.[5] The service to Toronto was temporarily suspended in September 2008, but has since been restored, whereas the service to Montreal has been cancelled as of 2009.

It was reported in 2007 that Transaero negotiated a deal with Continental Airlines to purchase 10 of their Boeing 737-500 aircraft still in their fleet.[6] In November 2007 the airline announced a new scheduled bi-weekly service between Moscow and Sydney, Australia via Hong Kong, commencing 24 December 2007. The flight was operated by Boeing 767-300 equipment. This route is was meanwhile terminated again. Transaero also started to replace all of its Boeing 747-200s with used Boeing 747-400s at the end of 2007.

In October 2009 Austrian Airlines and Transaero Airlines have concluded a code-share agreement in Moscow on the routing Vienna to Moscow. Under the agreement Austrian Airlines put its code on Transaero's daily Moscow-Vienna flight, while Transaero put its code on one of the three daily Vienna-Moscow flights which are operated by Austrian.[7]

In April 2010, Transaero arranged to lease 9 ex-Japan Airlines Boeing 747-400s which entered the fleet in 2010–2012.[8] In December 2010, Transaero announced that they would increase their deal to 12 Boeing 747-400.[9] In October 2010, Transaero launched flights to Beijing, Miami and New York City.[10] This marked the return of Transaero to the United States since cancelling service to Los Angeles. Beijing became the second Chinese destination after Sanya.

On 29 April 2012 Transaero resumed flights between Moscow and Los Angeles, utilizing a 777-200ER. In 2013 Transaero carried nearly 12.5 million people and operated 98 aircraft.[15] Since 2014, Transaero operates direct flights from Moscow to Miami with Boeing 747-400s.

Transaero hosted a competition for a new logo and livery for rebranding in 2013-2014, but did not discuss the procedure's timetable. In April 2015, the airline decided to rebrand this year and to introduce the new livery and logo with upcoming Airbus A380, Boeing 747-8 and Sukhoi Superjet 100.[16][17]

In May 2015 Transaero announced the expected receipt of their first two Airbus A380-800s and one Boeing 747-8 later in the year. The A380s were to operate from Moscow to New York and Vladivostok.[18] However, this was quickly followed by a report that Transaero asked Airbus to reschedule the delivery of the first A380 beyond 2015 due to financial difficulties.[19] At the IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in June 2015, the president of Airbus, Fabrice Brégier said “I’m sure we will meet the target to deliver the A380s to Transaero. The problem is that they are facing a difficult economic situation because of the rouble’s devaluation and a shrinking market for tourism from Russia.”[20]

Transaero is controlled by Olga and Aleksandr Pleshakov. Aleksandr's mother Tatiana Anodina has been the head of the Interstate Aviation Committee, the aviation oversight body in CIS, since 1991.[21][22] Aleksandr's father is Piotr Pleshakov - a Soviet military engineer, who was the Soviet Union's Minister of Radioelectronic Industry from 1974 till 1987.[23] There was press speculation regarding Anodina's conflict of interest in certifying aircraft with respect to Transaero's market position.[24][25]

Transaero cabin amenities depend greatly on which airline the aircraft was bought or leased from. Transaero's cabins differ greatly in amenities and layout from plane to plane, ranging from poorly equipped cabins of older European/USA operators on 737s to quite decent set of features in aircraft leased or purchased from Singapore Airlines (Transaero had to install their own first class cabin, because SIA kept their first class seats). The description below applies only to the Boeing 777's which used to belong to Singapore Airlines. 777-300s and some 747-400 were retrofitted with the Fiber optics to the screen Lumexis AVOD system in all classes. Wi-Fi Internet connection and cellular services are available on select routes and planes, with the price tag varying from 400 RUR ($12 US) for an hour to 800 RUR ($24 US) for 24 hours.

Tourist Economy Class

Transaero's Tourist Economy Class features standard seat pitch(depends on aircraft but usually 31-32 inches), recline and width. The airline provides free food for Tourist passengers and an in-flight entertainment system is available for free on Boeing 747-400, Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 777-300.[47] The in-flight entertainment on international routes aboard the 747, and the 777-200ER, is either an integrated personal TV with 5-7 broadcast channels or AVOD Lumexis.

Premium Economy Class

Transaero's Premium Economy Class offers the same seat width as the Tourist Economy Class but a greater seat pitch of up to 36 inches[48] and enhanced recline features for a recline of 29 degrees(just over 7 inches). The Premium Economy Class seats on the 777-300 are also distinguished by red seats instead of the blue seats in Tourist Economy Class. In addition to more seat pitch, recline and free food, Transaero also offers a larger baggage allowance for the Premium Economy class fares. The in-flight-entertainment system is available for free, with Lumexis AVOD on select Boeing 747-400s and all Boeing 777-300s. Passengers flying Premium Economy will also be able to make use of a dedicated check-in desk at selected airports.[47]

Business/Premium Class

The Business Class offers passengers a wider seat than Economy along with additional legroom and deeper recline. Each seat has two armrests and In-Flight-Entertainment is free of charge and includes a larger selection of music, movies and television. The cabins are located either in the upper deck on 747s or in the front part of the plane on all other types. The menus offer more choice, better quality food than Economy. The inflight service is individual and a la carte with wide selection of free beverages, wells and wines. There are free taxi transfers from Moscow Airports on some international routes and some fare classes.[47]

Imperial Class

The Imperial Class is Transaero's First Class. The seats offer extra privacy and are the widest seats of all on the aircraft. The seat reclines fully flat to form a large bed for passengers and the food on offered is either Russian or European. Complimentary taxi transfers are available for Imperial Class passengers.[47]